As anticipated, the Florida House unveiled a PreK-12 spending planWednesday that’s more than a half-billion dollars leaner than the version released Tuesday by the Senate. Both differ from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request. After introducing his $21.6 billion proposal, House PreK-12 Appropriations chairman Rep. Chris Latvala made clear he anticipated changes as the session progresses. Read More
Today’s schedule called for consideration of the Senate’s school safety bill – SB 7030 – this afternoon in the Senate Infrastructure & Security Committee but there was not sufficient time for discussion, public testimony, and debate of the bill. Committee Chair, Tom Lee, apologized and rescheduled consideration of the bill for Tuesday, March 26. However,…
Before diving into this third week of the Legislative Session, please be sure to watch our FSBA Weekly Video Update featuring FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina providing a recap of the main events during the second week of the Session. The third week of the Legislative Session begins with a particularly busy schedule today that…
Florida House leadership has unveiled another proposal aimed at enacting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ goal of widely expanding school choice programs. This time, it would open the door for a broader influx of charter schools into the state’s poorest communities. A bill from the PreK-12 Innovation subcommittee, filed late Friday, would allow the establishment of “Hope” charter schools in “opportunity…
Today’s schedule shows only two meetings of interest but includes consideration of bills that could have a significant impact on school districts, including bills that address and school choice. Today’s schedule is posted below and will be updated throughout the day with the outcome on these bills after each meeting concludes. [toggle title=”Committee/Subcommittee Meetings…
The first week of the Legislative Session is winding down with only a few meetings of interest on the schedule. Bills that were considered today address teacher preparation, Bible study, and civics education and the outcome on these bills is available in the file below. There are no meetings of interest scheduled for tomorrow so our…
It was only the second day of the legislative session, but Tuesday already saw a packed committee room and spirited debate over an education package bill that could be one of the most consequential bills of the 2019 session. Senate Bill 7070 passed the Senate Education Committee along party lines on Tuesday. Read More
The schedule for the 2nd day of the 60-day Legislative Session may appear to be light, but some very significant issues will be under consideration that are likely to produce lively discussion and debate. Of particular interest, the Senate Education Committee will consider a Proposed Committee Bill (PCB) that addresses expansion of existing scholarship programs,…
Welcome to the opening of the 2019 Legislative Session! As is typical for the opening day, each chamber will hold separate sessions in the morning to hear from their chamber’s leader and conduct other business. The two chambers then will meet in joint session to receive the State of the State address by Governor DeSantis. …
The Legislative session doesn’t kick off until Tuesday but it’s already clear that the education policy debate will be different this year. With a new, conservative state Supreme Court and Gov. Ron DeSantis pushing for allowing tax dollars to subsidize students going to private schools, many long-time education advocates said 2019 feels like a turning…